Forward Shabazz Muhammad dunks the ball as a high school senior last season. Muhammad, now a UCLA freshman, has been found ineligible by the NCAA, pending an appeal. / Mark L. Baer, US Presswire

by Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports

by Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports

UCLA men's basketball coach Ben Howland said Wednesday night that the school has filed an appeal on behalf of prized freshman Shabazz Muhammad and that it will be heard by the NCAA on Friday.

"We hope for an answer shortly thereafter but have no idea," Howland told USA TODAY Sports when reached on his cell phone. "It is what it is. We and his family have been as cooperative as possible with the NCAA. We are extremely hopeful that things work out during this whole process."

Hours before the Bruins opened their season last Friday, the NCAA ruled Muhammad ineligible because it concluded that the Las Vegas native violated amateurism rules.

Ben Lincoln, a North Carolina-based financial adviser whom the Muhammads say has been a family friend for five years, paid the travel and lodging for three unofficial visits Muhammad made during the recruiting process to Duke and North Carolina.

On Wednesday, attorneys at Poyner Spruill who represent Muhammad released a statement, which was first published by the Los Angeles Times, that contends that Lincoln sought approval from the NCAA before he paid for the trips.

Lincoln has "indicated that he inquired with individuals affiliated with the NCAA, UNC and Duke. His recollection is that it would be permissible for him to assist with the trips providing that he was a longstanding family friend and the expenditures were reported on the appropriate forms."

An email to the NCAA asking whether Lincoln sought approval to pay for the trips was not immediately returned.

Muhammad was unaware of how the trips were paid for and he never discussed the payment of the trips with his father, his attorneys say.

The statement from the attorneys sheds some light on how Muhammad's family views the ongoing investigation by the NCAA, which they say has interviewed Muhammad twice and requested thousands of pages of financial and communication records from his family.

The attorneys claim the NCAA investigative process "effectively provides no rights to Shabazz" and that there has been no opportunity for Muhammad to contest the NCAA's conclusion of a violation of amateurism rules.

"The NCAA has effectively prohibited transparency in the investigation and the decision-making process," his attorneys say. "The ability for Shabazz to clear his name and reputation is being jeopardized. We have consistently contended that Shabazz has not committed any violations of NCAA bylaws and is being unfairly punished. We continue to stand by that assertion."

The NCAA has previously said in a statement that the association and UCLA were in agreement about the facts of the case.

Lincoln has acknowledged paying for the plane flights and lodging for those trips, his attorney, Bill Trosch, told USA TODAY Sports in August. Lincoln's brother, Geoff Lincoln, is an assistant coach at Bishop Gorman, Muhammad's high school team in Las Vegas.

Muhammad's attorneys say Lincoln, who did not graduate from North Carolina or Duke, was aware of mutual interest between Duke, North Carolina and Muhammad and Lincoln offered to assist the family with payments of the trips to his home state.

And Trosch also told USA TODAY Sports that Muhammad's father, Ron Holmes, has said that the family completed appropriate compliance forms stating that Lincoln, whom the family claims is a friend, paid for the trips.

The Muhammad family issued a statement Tuesday, first released to the Los Angeles Times, criticizing the NCAA for, among other things, dragging its feet on an investigation that the family says began more than a year ago.

In response, NCAA spokesperson Stacey Osburn elaborated on the timeline of the investigation in an email to USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. Osburn wrote that the NCAA requested specific documents on July 31 to assist in the evaluation of Muhammad's case but did not receive the majority of the requested documents until September 25. The enforcement staff received more information on October 10, she said, and the staff was granted access to what she called "additional critical information" on November 1.

During Muhammad's recruitment, the NCAA informed schools recruiting Muhammad that there may be unresolved issues that would warrant further investigation, according to two college coaches familiar with Muhammad's recruitment. Some schools softened their recruitment or backed off almost entirely.

CBS Sports first reported Muhammad's eligibility issues in February.

Muhammad is the gem of a highly acclaimed UCLA recruiting class assembled to help lift the Bruins program back to national relevance. After reaching three consecutive Final Fours between 2006 and 2008, UCLA has not advanced to the Sweet 16 since and has missed the NCAA tournament in two of the past four seasons. What's more, a scathing expose in Sports Illustrated last season shed an unflattering light on internal dynamics within the program.

Greg Anthony, a college basketball analyst for CBS Sports who was born and raised in Las Vegas, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that Muhammad is a "once-in-a-generation talent. He is not just a phenomenal player, but a phenomenal young man."

The Muhammad investigation has stirred conversation among college players across the nation. Arizona senior Solomon Hill, a Southern California native whose Wildcats are expected to compete with the Bruins for the top spot in the Pac-12 Conference, told USA TODAY Sports this week that, if Muhammad is not cleared to play by December, he should leave UCLA and instead hire an agent and trainer to best prepare for June's NBA draft.

"You look at it, it's hurting UCLA, it's not hurting anyone else," Hill said. "The NCAA can investigate as much as it wants to, but, regardless, this guy is going to go top five."